How many times is forgiveness mentioned in the Quran?
Counted in the Arabic text and in Pickthall‘s English, with the rule beside each number and every verse below. Then search any other word.
In the Arabic
28
times, in 28 verses, as مغفرة
Counted: The noun maghfirah (forgiveness). Verbs such as yaghfiru (He forgives) and istighfar (asking forgiveness), and the name al-Ghafur, are from the same root and counted below.
In Pickthall‘s English
226
times, in 193 verses
Counted: The word forgiveness or forgive or forgiven or forgiveth or forgiving or forgave or forgivest. Another translation would give another number.
Related words, counted on their own
- 91 al-Ghafur and ghafur, the Forgiving
- 234 every word of the root gh-f-r
...
times
114 surahs
6,236 verses
Loading the 6,236 verses...
The first verses with forgiveness
2:175 Al-Baqarah
أولئك الذين اشتروا الضلالة بالهدى والعذاب بالمغفرة فما أصبرهم على النار
Those are they who purchase error at the price of guidance, and torment at the price of pardon. How constant are they in their strife to reach the Fire!
2:221 Al-Baqarah
ولا تنكحوا المشركات حتى يؤمن ولأمة مؤمنة خير من مشركة ولو أعجبتكم ولا تنكحوا المشركين حتى يؤمنوا ولعبد مؤمن خير من مشرك ولو أعجبكم أولئك يدعون إلى النار والله يدعو إلى الجنة والمغفرة بإذنه ويبين آياته للناس لعلهم يتذكرون
Wed not idolatresses till they believe; for lo! a believing bondwoman is better than an idolatress though she please you; and give not your daughters in marriage to idolaters till they believe, for lo! a believing slave is better than an idolater though he please you. These invite unto the Fire, and Allah inviteth unto the Garden, and unto forgiveness by His grace, and expoundeth His revelations to mankind that haply they may remember.
2:263 Al-Baqarah
قول معروف ومغفرة خير من صدقة يتبعها أذى والله غني حليم
A kind word with forgiveness is better than almsgiving followed by injury. Allah is Absolute, Clement.
2:268 Al-Baqarah
الشيطان يعدكم الفقر ويأمركم بالفحشاء والله يعدكم مغفرة منه وفضلا والله واسع عليم
The devil promiseth you destitution and enjoineth on you lewdness. But Allah promiseth you forgiveness from Himself with bounty. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.
3:133 Al Imran
وسارعوا إلى مغفرة من ربكم وجنة عرضها السماوات والأرض أعدت للمتقين
And vie one with another for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for those who ward off (evil);
3:136 Al Imran
أولئك جزاؤهم مغفرة من ربهم وجنات تجري من تحتها الأنهار خالدين فيها ونعم أجر العاملين
The reward of such will be forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide for ever - a bountiful reward for workers!
3:157 Al Imran
ولئن قتلتم في سبيل الله أو متم لمغفرة من الله ورحمة خير مما يجمعون
And what though ye be slain in Allah's way or die therein? Surely pardon from Allah and mercy are better than all that they amass.
4:96 An-Nisa
درجات منه ومغفرة ورحمة وكان الله غفورا رحيما
Degrees of rank from Him, and forgiveness and mercy. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.
5:9 Al-Ma'idah
وعد الله الذين آمنوا وعملوا الصالحات لهم مغفرة وأجر عظيم
Allah hath promised those who believe and do good works: Theirs will be forgiveness and immense reward.
8:4 Al-Anfal
أولئك هم المؤمنون حقا لهم درجات عند ربهم ومغفرة ورزق كريم
Those are they who are in truth believers. For them are grades (of honour) with their Lord, and pardon, and a bountiful provision.
All 28 verses are in the search above, with the count by surah.
How this was counted
The Arabic count goes through all 6,236 verses of the Tanzil text without vowel marks and counts each written word that is one of the forms named above. Wa (and), fa (so), bi (with), li (for), ka (like) and al (the) are written joined to the next word, so they are allowed in front. The basmala at the top of each surah is not counted; the one that is verse 1 of Al-Fatiha is.
The English count looks for whole words in Pickthall‘s translation. Words he put in brackets are his explanations, not the Arabic, so they are left out. A translation count is a count of the translator‘s choices: use the Arabic number when you quote one.
Search any word in the box above, or see how the Quran word search works and how many words the whole Quran has.
Arabic: Tanzil Quran Text (Simple Clean, Hafs), copied verbatim under its terms. English: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain, from Project Gutenberg eBook #16955.
More searches
Questions about forgiveness in the Quran
How many times is forgiveness mentioned in the Quran?
In the Arabic, 28 times, in 28 verses. Counted: The noun maghfirah (forgiveness). Verbs such as yaghfiru (He forgives) and istighfar (asking forgiveness), and the name al-Ghafur, are from the same root and counted below. In Pickthall's English translation the count is 226 times.
Why do other sources give a different number?
Because they count other forms of the word, or count in a translation. Arabic joins words such as "and" and "the" to the next word and adds endings for his, their and plurals, and translators use different English words for the same Arabic word. Every number is right for its own rule; this page tells you its rule and lists every verse, so you can check it.
Where is forgiveness first mentioned in the Quran?
In mushaf order, the first 10 verses are 2:175, 2:221, 2:263, 2:268, 3:133, 3:136, 3:157, 4:96, 5:9, 8:4. The full list is on this page, each verse in Arabic and in English.